U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,306,242; 6,517,664, and 6,663,746 disclose methods for labeling plastic, glass or metal containers or surfaces with polymeric labels. The patents deal with unique problems associated with polymeric labels. Polymer labels are relatively hydrophobic and non-permeable to moisture in most cases, as contrasted with paper labels, which are inherently hydrophilic and have relatively high moisture adsorption and transmission rates. The patents include the steps of applying a layer of hydrophilic solid material to a polymeric label to form a hydrophilic layer, applying water or a water-based adhesive to the hydrophilic layer to form a fastenable polymeric label, fastening the fastenable polymeric label to a glass, plastic or metal containers or surface, and allowing said polymeric label adhesive to dry on the glass, plastic or metal container or surface. The patent examples do not illustrate high speed label application rates and do not have acceptable ice/water immersion resistance of the applied labels.
Other methods of functionally activating an adhesive to go from non-tacky to tacky state in a short time are known. One method employs a release layer that protects the tacky surface until applied, also called pressure sensitive adhesives. Another method is heat activation of an adhesive. With machine-applied labels, there is strong economic incentive to label containers/bottles at high rates to achieve economies of operation. This requires activation from non-tacky to tacky in less than a second. It would be economically advantageous if synthetic polymeric labels could be applied using glue applied paper label equipment already in place and minimally modified. Polymeric labels offer opportunities for moisture resistant completely or partially clear labels and a variety of other visual effects that may have consumer appeal.